SB 10.17.2 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श्रीशुक उवाच उपहार्यै: सर्पजनैर्मासि मासीह यो बलि: । वानस्पत्यो महाबाहो नागानां प्राङ्‍‍‍‍‍‍निरूपित: ॥ २ ॥ स्वं स्वं भागं प्रयच्छन्ति नागा: पर्वणि पर्वणि । गोपीथायात्मन: सर्वे सुपर्णाय महात्मने ॥ ३ ॥

Verse text

śrī-śuka uvāca upahāryaiḥ sarpa-janair māsi māsīha yo baliḥ vānaspatyo mahā-bāho nāgānāṁ prāṅ-nirūpitaḥ svaṁ svaṁ bhāgaṁ prayacchanti nāgāḥ parvaṇi parvaṇi gopīthāyātmanaḥ sarve suparṇāya mahātmane

Synonyms

śrī — śukaḥ uvāca — Śukadeva Gosvāmī said ; upahāryaiḥ — who were qualified to make offerings ; sarpa — janaiḥ — by the serpent race ; māsi māsi — each month ; iha — here (in Nāgālaya) ; yaḥ — which ; baliḥ — offering of tribute ; vānaspatyaḥ — at the base of a tree ; mahā — bāho — O mighty-armed Parīkṣit ; nāgānām — for the serpents ; prāk — previously ; nirūpitaḥ — ordained ; svam svam — each his own ; bhāgam — portion ; prayacchanti — they present ; nāgāḥ — the serpents ; parvaṇi parvaṇi — once each month ; gopīthāya — for the protection ; ātmanaḥ — of themselves ; sarve — all of them ; suparṇāya — to Garuḍa ; mahā — ātmane — the powerful .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: To avoid being eaten by Garuḍa, the serpents had previously made an arrangement with him whereby they would each make a monthly offering of tribute at the base of a tree. Thus every month on schedule, O mighty-armed King Parīkṣit, each serpent would duly make his offering to that powerful carrier of Viṣṇu as a purchase of protection.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: To avoid being eaten by Garuḍa, the serpents had previously made an arrangement with him whereby they would each make a monthly offering of tribute at the base of a tree. Thus every month on schedule, O mighty-armed King Parīkṣit, each serpent would duly make his offering to that powerful carrier of Viṣṇu as a purchase of protection. KB 10.17.2-3 Śukadeva Gosvāmī informed the King that the island known as Nāgālaya was inhabited by serpents and that Kāliya was one of the chief serpents there. Being accustomed to eating snakes, Garuḍa used to come to this island and kill many serpents at will. Some of them he actually ate, but some were unnecessarily killed. The reptile society became so disturbed that their leader, Vāsuki, appealed to Lord Brahmā for protection. Lord Brahmā made an arrangement by which Garuḍa would not create a disturbance: on each half-moon day, the reptile community would offer a serpent to Garuḍa. The serpent was to be kept underneath a tree as a sacrificial offering to Garuḍa. Garuḍa was satisfied with this offering, and therefore he did not disturb any other serpents.

Purport

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has given an alternate explanation of this verse. Upahāryaiḥ may also be translated as “by those who are to be eaten,” and sarpa-janaiḥ as “those human beings who were dominated by or who belonged to the serpent race.” According to this reading, a group of human beings had fallen under the control of the serpents and were prone to be eaten by them. To avoid this, the human beings would make a monthly offering to the serpents, who in turn would offer a portion of that offering to Garuḍa so that he would not eat them. The particular translation given above is based on the commentary of Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī and the translation by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In any case, all the ācāryas agree that the serpents purchased protection from Garuḍa.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The snakes used to offer to Garuda at the proper time specially prepared fruits and roots under a tree in order to prevent Garuda from eating them. At that place all of the snakes used to present their individual offerings, once every fifteen days (parvani parvani). This was in order to protect themselves (gopithaya).

Purport (Jiva Goswami)

O might-armed king! By your prowess as a king, even your enemies paid tribute to you. Every fortnight, they made offerings to Garuḍa, who had unlimited power (mahātmane), in order to contribute their share.

Purport (Sanatana Goswami)

Three verses explain. The snakes would make offerings of fruits and roots (vanaspatyaḥ) which were previously determined (praṅ nirūpitaḥ) monthly at the abode of the snakes (iha), O might-armed king! By your prowess as a king, even your enemies paid tribute to you. Every fortnight (parvaṇi parvaṇi), they made offerings to Garuḍa, who had unlimited power (mahātmane), in order to contribute their share. Because he was powerful they had to make the offering. Or one could satisfy even a natural enemy with offerings of fruit alone because he was a great soul.